St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 6b, Standing Idle.

Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 7.

In the parable that Christ told his disciples, the house-holder has gone out early in the morning, mid morning, and several other times before noon to hire workers for his vineyard.  Five times he went out to the market place and found workers.  He was puzzled as to why they were standing about idle.  He hired all that were present when he went out to the market place only to come back later to find more workers standing about without something to do. 

Christ tells this story to his disciples because he wants them to understand that they are the same as the workers in the market place and the house-holder is the same as God seeking workers to tend his vineyard of souls.  He wanted them to understand that they should not stand about idle waiting for work to come when there is work to be had in the vineyard.  He tells them what the house-holder told the workers:   "And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here all day idle?' " 

This was the message that Christ wanted his disciples to understand.  He wanted them to know that they did not have to be idle.  They did not have to stand about everyday with nothing to do.  There was plenty of work to do for God.  The kingdom of heaven is in need of laborers to bring in the harvest.  The kingdom of heaven has fruit that is in need of harvest.  The kingdom of heaven is open that those who seek it can find it. 

Are you a laborer?  Do you work for the kingdom?  Some would say that this message is a battle cry for those who would carry the message to the ends of the earth and convert all to become Christians.  But this is not the will of the creator.  This is not the demand of our God.  It is not the desire of God our Father and that of Christ our savior that his message is forced upon all.  It is not the desire of God that all are forced to become believers.  Christ's passion is that of love.  Our Father is a God of love and compassion.  His will is not to force but to love.  His will is not to command but to show.  His will is not to demand but to be an example to those who do not know, to those who do not understand, to those in the dark.

Our labor is to live our life, according to the will of the Father, that Christ has given us.  Those who believe and know the truth of who they are in Christ are examples for the world to see.  Those who walk with the spirit have their work assigned to them.  Those who are filled with the light of life are the laborers in the vineyard and know what needs to be done.  They are the ones who have the skills.  They are the ones who have the knowledge.  They are the ones who are filled with the light of life that shines from within.  They are the ones who are not idle workers, standing around waiting for work.  

The house-holder needs laborers.  The vineyards needs workers.  The light of Christ and the love of the Holy Spirit seeks you.  Do not stand idle when there is work to be completed.  Do not wait for the harvest to spoil when it needs to be picked.  Christ calls.  The Holy Spirit seeks.  The love of God our Father fills those who want to know.  Your assignment awaits.  I have mine.  Come!  Receive your work assignment and end your idle stand. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in.

St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 6a, Standing Idle.

Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 6. 

We were listening to Christ telling his disciples the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.  He had previously told them how riches would hinder one from entering the kingdom.  He is teaching his disciples about a new place.  He wants them to understand that the kingdom is different from anything that they know.  It is not like what they know here on earth.  One cannot think about heaven in the same light as one would think of a place here on earth.  Heaven is a spiritual place.  It is a place of peace.  It is a place of glory, and majesty, and love.  And the human imagination has no reference to compare with.

There are rules to entering.  We entered the earth through our parents.  They brought us into the physical world.  Yet we are given spiritual life through God our Father.  He gave us life for a purpose.  He loved us enough that he wanted to share his love.  And he is merciful enough that he forgave our trespasses.  Christ tells his disciples of this parable of the laborers because he wants us to understand our part.  He wants us to know what we have to do to participate in the kingdom of heaven.  As he told his disciples:  "But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing about." 

Are we standing about with nothing to do?  Are we idle workers seeking work?  Have we been called to work in the vineyard?  What is your purpose?  What is your job?  What has the spirit given you to do in the vineyard?  Are you collecting the grapes?  Are you picking the grapes?  Are you the one that carries the grapes to the wine press?  Or are you the one that works the press to tamp out the wine?  We all have a purpose.  We all have an assignment.  We all are workers in the vineyard if we are believers.

If you believe in your heart that Christ is the son of God our Father and that he came down from heaven to sacrifice for our sins, then you are a worker.  The question is, are you working or are you idle.  Do you only work on Sundays or are you a 24/7 worker?  Do you feed the hungry when the opportunity arises or do you pass them over?  Do you lend a helping hand or do you turn the other way when a hand is needed?  Do you have the love of Christ within you or is that something that comes out only with church members?  Do you share the love that is within you with those who are down and out without hope? 

Being a worker in the vineyard only means that it is in your heart.  Being a worker in the vineyard means that the love and the spirit of Christ is within you.  Being a worker in the vineyard means that the passion that Christ has for each and every one of us, is seen in the drunk on the street, to the dope addict, to the beggar, to the thief, to the ones who has lost their way, to the prostitute.  We are all children of our Father in heaven.  He gave us life from nothing.  We did not exist.  We had no form or shape or life or purpose until that moment when he commanded that we have life. 

And here we are today, living in this physical form that we may experience the physical realm and choose who we are.  Are we the children of God our Father or are we just the physical embodiment of ourselves?  The spirit lives within.  But the physical is what we experience.  In that spirit lives the life that is given us by our Father.  In that physical body lives the spirit of who we are.  And in that body lives that light of the life that we are, waiting for that time when we transition into the glorious beings that our Father has given life to. 

The work of the spirit is within us.  The acknowledgement of the spirit is upon each of us.  The knowledge of who we are is open to each of us.  And that knowledge will open our eyes to the beings we are, transforming us to workers in the vineyard of Christ.  When the truth of who you are in Christ comes upon you, the light of life shines within you.  And your light glows from the love that comes from God our Father.  For from him, and through him, and with him we are transformed into more than just the physical.  We become the lights of the world that shine for others to see in the darkness.  Open your heart to the truth!  You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine for all to see. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in.